The Marauder's First Adventure
by Accio-Amy
Summary: The Marauder's first ride on the Hogwarts Express.
1. Chapter 1

**Sirius' POV: **As excited as he was for his first year at Hogwarts Sirius Black could not get the declaration his mother made the past night out of his head "Sirius you can rebel as much as you want but, by tomorrow evening we will have another Slytherin to add to the Black line." Now roaming the Hogwarts Express for a compartment to sit in he couldn't help but think his mother was right. As he was coming to the conclusion that being sorted into Slytherin was inevitable he nearly collided with a boy. The boy had untidy black hair that had a piece sticking up in the back, a thin face, and hazel eyes."Sorry mate," said the boy "You looking for a place to sit too?" "Yes" answered Sirius being abnormally shy. Not seeming to notice or maybe not caring about Sirius' unobtrusiveness the boy punched him on the shoulder. Anger immediately swelled up inside Sirius, but he didn't let it phase him instead he swallowed his anger and let it go. However, he immediately started feeling a tinge of dislike for this boy who continued without noticing any of these emotions flowing through Sirius and said "Well, I'm James! There doesn't seem to be any empty compartments, but the last one at the end has some room." James started walking to the aforementioned compartment and Sirius was forced to follow not able to get a word in edgewise while James continued talking "However, the boys in there seem a little dull. One's asleep and the other one, who looks quite wormy, squealed when I asked if all the seats where taken. What was your name again?" "Sirius. Sirius Black." Sirius answered, quietly drifting off on his last name, always embarrassed by the connotations associated with it. As they entered the compartment Sirius sat down next to the sleeping boy, while James sat across from him ignoring the other boy who did look quite a lot like a worm, especially as he jumped out of his seat as the boys entered. At the mention of Sirius' name, James started staring at him moving his eyes up and down as if analyzing Sirius. Sirius' tinge of dislike quickly grew, James' demeanor had obviously changed at the mention of the dreaded last name. "I'm P-P-Peter Pettigrew." squeaked the worm boy. Completely ignoring Peter's existence James said in a new manner, "Black, I've heard of _your _family. Expect you'll be in Slytherin then." "No!" erupted Sirius, finally letting his anger over take him and subsequently causing the sleeping boy to wake up and Peter to squeal again, continuing more quietly "At least, I hope not." He suddenly felt very embarrassed at his outburst, he hated even slightly resembling the dreadful people the rest of his family was made up of. Sirius sat unsure of how to continue, so he didn't and focused his attention on his hands resting on his lap. Taking sporadic glances up Sirius noticed that James seemed to be uncomfortable in the silence finally introducing himself to the sleeping boy who was called Remus Lupin, but again there was silence and again Sirius, realizing he could easily read James, could see James becoming restless again. So James started a conversation about Quidditch with Remus and eventually Sirius joined in, hoping to erase his first impression, quite confident in his knowledge of the subject. They talked for a long time moving from topic to topic but eventually the topic fell to Houses. James proudly announced he was going to be in Gryffindor and Sirius said, "I wish I could say that." Which he truly meant. For as long as Sirius could remember he was different. While his family enjoyed dabbling in Dark magic, Sirius preferred to stay in his room and read about heroic Wizards who dueled the different evils of the past. By far Sirius' favorite hero was Godric Gryffindor. He had read every book he could find about the original Gryffindor and although he mainly hoped to avoid being sorted into Slytherin he desperately hoped to be put into Gryffindor. Still weary of letting his guard down, Sirius said none of this and let his dismal statement hang in the air. Remus said he expected to be in Ravenclaw and Peter quietly said he was lucky he got a letter from Hogwarts, at this the boys started laughing and continued talking. Before they knew it the train was slowing and Sirius felt as if he could tell these boys anything, not that he would just yet. As people started getting off Lupin and Peter left the compartment, as Sirius was about to follow James pulled him back and said, "Listen mate, my father told me that the Sorting Hat will let you choose if you are true in what you believe and personally I'd really like to have a mate with me in Gryffindor." Sirius didn't know what to say, so he just smiled. When his time came to be sorted he thought of what James said and not of his mother's discouraging statement from the previous night. When the hat was placed on his head, he was given a choice and without a thought chose Gryffindor.


	2. Chapter 2

**James' POV: **The confidence that James Potter had as he stepped onto the Hogwarts Express was quickly lessening. He had been wandering the train corridor for what seemed like an eternity, but what really was only 20 minutes. After coming upon numerous compartments half full of people and half full of questionable "saved seats", James was completely diminished. This was not what he had expected. He didn't even bother to worry about finding a seat, he assumed people would _want_ him to sit with them. He did not expect the only available seat to be in a compartment with a squealing worm-faced boy who couldn't seem to answer a simple question and a boy who looked like he was already greying. James decided he would take one more walk down the corridor before submitting himself to the _oddball_ compartment. So strolling through the corridor he was completely focused on catching _someone's _eye who would graciously invite him into their compartment and this lack of normal awareness caused him to nearly collide with a boy. He was dark haired, handsome boy with grey eyes."Sorry mate." James said still feeling enough confidence not to be embarrassed by this blunder he asked the boy "You looking for a place to sit too?" "Yes." the boy answered and said nothing else. James decided this boy might be a potential...potential something but he hadn't decided what that something was yet. But he couldn't deny that he was a vain person that liked to surround himself with good looking people who could also complement his personality. But he wasn't sure if this boy filled the second half of the requirement, so to get a better grasp on this new character James threw a playful but not exactly light punch at the boy's shoulder. James quickly processed the fact that the boy did not get upset, punch back or laugh, he really had no obvious reaction, with this lack of reaction James continued speaking, "Well, I'm James! There doesn't seem to be any empty compartments, but the last one at the end has some room." Taking what he believed to be his _rightful_ leadership position, James started walking to the oddball compartment that seemed slightly better now that he had someone else with him. Not letting the boy object to the compartment, let alone allow him to enter the conversation James continued, "However, the boys in there seem a little dull. One's asleep and the other one, who looks quite wormy, squealed when I asked if all the seats were taken. What was your name again?" Deciding the boy could enter the conversation James asked the boy's name as if he'd forgotten however, he knew that the boy had not given it yet, which is why James was slightly taken aback when the boy replied, "Sirius. Sirius Black."

James had expected to hear an unknown name, of a boy he assumed to be either muggle-born or half-blood, not a Black. Not a son of well known wizards with dark tendencies. Not a boy whom you would expect to be quiet let alone a proper follower. Automatically James took the defensive, sizing the boy up as they entered the compartment. James was so caught up in figuring Sirius out that he barely heard the wormy boy introduce himself, all he heard was the "P" sound the boy repeated before getting the actual name out, which truthfully James didn't care about. Finally, James found what to say "Black, I've heard of _your _family. Expect you'll be in Slytherin then." "No!" erupted Sirius. If the boy's name had taken James aback this explosion blew him away. But it also confused him, the boy didn't want to be in Slytherin? However he couldn't ask the boy questions, not after that. But, the silence grew to be too much for James to handle and so he introduced himself to the greying boy who must've woken up at Sirius' outburst. The boy's name was Remus Lupin, a last name James had heard but couldn't place. After the introduction no one said anything and again silence enveloped the small compartment. James loved to be the center of attention and when it was quiet no one is the center of attention. Not that James was concerned with any of these boys starting to control the situation, he was obviously the leader of this group. So he went to his go to and asked Remus about his favorite Quidditch team and after a few questions Remus started participating in the conversation and asking questions back. At one point Sirius joined in and as they spoke the conversation evolved and moved to different subjects. James held himself back from asking if Sirius' parents really had House Elf heads decorating their walls and despite his preconceived bias toward a Black, he couldn't help liking the boy. He did, subtly, move the conversation back to Houses because he was curious about the topic that brought out a slightly temperamental Sirius, if only for a moment. So when the time came James announced "Potters have always been in Gryffindor, there's no doubt I will be too." Sirius sadly replied "I wish I could say that." Remus said he expected to be in Ravenclaw and Peter (after realizing the worm faced boy was quite likable, in a laughable sort of way, James made an effort to ask his name) quietly said he was lucky he got a letter from Hogwarts. Though this was hilarious and James did laugh his thoughts left the compartment and while the other boys continued talking James stayed quiet and thought of his favorite bedtime story his father used to tell him.

A young Potter was called to be sorted. Now before this day Potters did not have a family House, it's unsure if he was the first Potter to attend Hogwarts or if Potters had just been in random Houses but as the young boy took his seat on the stool in front of the entire school, he had no idea where he would be sorted. After a minute or two the boy became very disheartened. The previous first years had been sorted within seconds but he had been sitting on the stool for what felt like an eternity, he started thinking this was not where he was suppose to be. At these thoughts the Hat said "You are a difficult one, but you definitely belong. Just give me a moment." Slightly startled, especially because no one else in the Great Hall seemed to hear the voice, the boy quickly understood that the Hat was speaking to him and had understood his thoughts. With this in mind the boy sat patiently. Before long he noticed something in the crowd. A shorter first year was being bullied by an older group of students. Wanting to help, the boy thought, "I don't care where I am sorted I just want to be able to help that boy." The Hat replied "Well if you are in such a hurry I will let you decide how to proceed. There are many ways you can help the troubled and you have the potential for all. A Slytherin would possess the yearning to fight power with power. A Ravenclaw would possess the knowledge to know when to step in and how to outwit. A Hufflepuff would possess the need to find help. A Gryffindor would possess the courage to take action without pause. Now which one of these would you like to be?" "Courage. I want the courage to do something, I need to help." "Then you have made your choice." "GRYFFINDOR" The boy left the stool and instead of heading over to the table of cheering Gryffindors he straight-lined to the boy being bullied and with all eyes on him he stepped in front of the boy with his arms folded and just stood there. He didn't say anything but he took action and that is what mattered. After that every Potter was sorted into Gryffindor and that was that.

James always had a definite identity, he was a Potter and he was going to be a Gryffindor. That was all he ever knew. He never thought of what it would be like not to know. He felt an overwhelming sense of sadness for Sirius. Suddenly he was worried about the sorting process. Not for himself, he would never doubt his inevitable sorting into Gryffindor, for Sirius. He was anxious about where Sirius would end up and he realized he was hopeful it would be Gryffindor. As undesirable this compartment had seemed at the beginning of the day James now thought fondly of it. He had become friends with these three boys. He felt comfortable with them. He was happy with this small group and he did not want it to disperse and go in different directions, he wanted his time to be at Hogwarts like it had been in the previous hours. Slowly leaving his thoughts he came back to reality and rejoined the discussion; but good things always come to an end and when you don't want the end to come it seems to happen faster. Eventually the train pulled into Hogsmeade Station and as students started filing out Remus and Peter left the compartment before Sirius could follow James pulled him back and said, "Listen mate, my father told me that the Sorting Hat will let you choose if you are true in what you believe and personally I'd really like to have a mate with me in Gryffindor." James didn't say anything else and neither did Sirius he just smiled and James took that as a sign of understanding and thanks. That night when Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor, James silently rejoiced. When Remus Lupin's name was called James' ears perked up again and waited for his group to be disband but it wasn't, because Remus joined the Gryffindors as well. Peter was sorted just before James and with his foursome complete James strutted up to the stool and was sorted before the Hat even touched his head. He walked to the Gryffindor table and joined his friends and they were all he needed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Remus' POV: **Remus Lupin was the first student on The Hogwarts Express, he arrived early and chose a compartment at the end of the corridor. Remus was in a constant state of exhaustion and never felt fully rested. So he chose what he hoped to be a quiet place to sleep before arriving at Hogwarts. He thought about how just weeks before he had had no plans of being here.

When his Hogwarts letter arrived Remus kept it under his pillow for a week before showing it to his parents. He knew what they would say "With your condition, we don't think it would be appropriate." That's what their answer was to anything, not that he got it a lot. He mainly stayed to himself, who was he kidding he only stayed to himself. He had never had a friend, he had never been to school and he had most definitely never left home for almost a full year. Remus had accepted his lycanthropy, he despised it and resented it everyday, but he accepted it. So when any opportunity came along that he had to say no to because of his problem his heart broke just a little. But the Hogwarts letter had felt worse than anything ever had, he felt like his heart had been ripped out and torn apart which is why he kept the letter from his parents. He wanted to delay the inevitable disappointment. After a week he showed it to his parents and they gave him their unfailing answer. So he sent back a "No" and went back to his routine life. Soon after he got another letter with the monogrammed "H" on the front, this time it was a personal letter from the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. It explained that Professor Dumbledore was aware of Remus' "inconvenience". Remus had heard many epithets of his condition but an inconvenience was a new one, and he liked it. It seemed less scary, more of an annoyance opposed to the horrific circumstance it actually was. Dumbledore, somehow aware of the inconvenience, expressed in his letter that he was quite sad when he learned of Remus' refusal of admission to Hogwarts. With elegance and taste the letter asked Remus to reconsider and attend Hogwarts in the fall. When he showed the letter to his parents they explained that it just wasn't enough to convince them and that the answer still had to be no. So with even more regret than the previous refusal Remus sent back a short reply making it clear he was not _allowed _to go to Hogwarts. The next day Professor Dumbledore arrived on the Lupin's doorstep and after some short pleasantries with the three Lupins, Dumbledore politely asked Remus to leave the adults to chat. Back in his room Remus put his ear against the door hoping to hear the conversation but all he heard was radio silence, which he assumed was from a charm the headmaster cast to keep Remus from listening in. After the longest hour of Remus' life there was a light tap on his door, when he opened it Dumbledore was standing there and before Remus could ask what happened Dumbledore exclaimed "Well, I must be off but I'll be seeing you on the first of September!" Just like that he left the house and after a minute he heard a small "pop" and realized the Headmaster of Hogwarts had just disapparated. Slightly astonished Remus made his way to his parents who were sitting in the drawing room whispering. "What happened?" Remus asked. "Apparently Professor Dumbledore has already made preparations for you to come to Hogwarts." his mother replied, then faded off and looked at her husband who continued, "He has planted some tree with a secret tunnel which will lead to a safe spot for you to, well do what you do. Truthfully, I don't understand it all but I'm sure he will explain once you get there." "Wait a second so you two just changed your mind? You've never done that." His mother started silently weeping and while his father tried comforting her Lupin became very confused but also angry because obviously he was missing something. "What's going on?" Finally making eye contact with Remus, Mr. Lupin replied "Professor Dumbledore thinks that we have been too protective of you. He argued that we are being unfair and that we should let you have a _normal _life. He made a point, we've sheltered you and now we have to let you go. Your mother and I just need a little time to process it." Remus didn't know how to reply, he had never had anyone to back him up but it seemed like Dumbledore made the case that Remus had long ago given up making. Not sure how to proceed Remus just asked "So I'm going to Hogwarts?" His father nodded and Remus left, going back to his room.

Over the next few days his parents didn't talk a lot, Remus could barely control his excitement but understanding that his parents did not feel the same way he kept to himself and left them to figure things out. Finally, his father told him they would take a trip to Diagon Alley to shop for school supplies. The next day the two of them made their way to the shops that had never seemed so exciting. After a quiet walk there and very little talking while picking up books and potion supplies Remus' father unexpectedly asked what house Remus was hoping to be sorted into, during his robe fitting. Remus replied that he wasn't sure. Mr. Lupin told him that he was a Hufflepuff but he wasn't a very loyal one. He told him how he always wished he'd been sorted into Gryffindor, the Gryffindors always seemed so confident and sure of themselves and he envied that. He told Remus that he could see him being sorted into Ravenclaw because he was so "brilliant" and of course he took after his mother who was a Ravenclaw. Lupin relished in the compliment and the proud way his father looked at him when he said it. He couldn't remember the last time his father looked at him like that. Enjoying this new attitude his father seemed to have, Remus asked more questions about his time at Hogwarts. They conversed the rest of the day about the past and future, letting themselves temporarily forget the present. Remus realized at a certain point in the day that he had never had such a great time with his father, they'd always been distant and had never really spent a lot of time together. After that day Remus noticed his mother becoming happier and happier and soon they were back to normal.

When the day came for Remus to board the Hogwarts Express, his parents drove him to King's Cross Station and took him through the barrier to Platform nine and three quarters. From afar they looked like any parents saying goodbye to their son until Christmas but in reality as they hugged and kissed Remus' mother spouted that it was okay if he wanted to come home and if someone found out he would have to leave right away and to write everyday and be careful not to draw attention and so on and so forth. Of course they were also the first ones on the platform due to Remus' excitement as well as his desire to find a place to sleep before other students boarded the train. Eventually his mother let him go and they walked away leaving Remus to find his way for the first time in his life. Now dozing off he reflected on these last few weeks slowly letting the tiredness overcome him.

"No!" Remus awoke with a start. Someone was shouting not two feet from him. Waking up he slowly started taking in what was going on in the small compartment that was now full. Still half asleep Remus missed the mumbling that followed the shouting but figured out where it came from. Sitting next to him was a good looking boy with dark hair who looked deathly embarrassed. Across from the now quiet boy was another slightly darker haired boy who seemed astonished by the outburst. Finally directly across from Remus was an odd looking boy who looked more frightened than anything else but also slightly confused. Remus sat looking around trying to figure out what had just happened. He didn't ask questions because he never asked questions. He was comfortable in silence, he even liked silence but he soon noticed the boy kiddie corner from him was not a fan of silence. He was fidgeting and looking around, eventually his eyes found Remus' and the boy, who introduced himself as James, seemed to ease up a little. Remus politely responded with his name and that was it. He didn't really know how to converse with people other than his parents. He also wasn't sure if he wanted to. He was okay with staying to himself so he did. But again James became uncomfortable and Remus realized that the silence was quickly becoming uncomfortable. He, of course, did not do anything to pacify the situation because he could tell James would and right on cue James asked Remus about Quidditch. Now Remus might've been a shut in but he still knew the difference between the Holyhead Harpies and the Chudley Cannons. In this sense he was just like any other boy who had grown up in the wizarding world, he loved Quidditch and could talk about it for hours. But when James asked who his favorite team was Remus replied with the name and forwent the very detailed reasoning behind his choice. James did not give up, he happily took the brunt of the conversation until Remus finally came around and balanced it. At a certain point the boy who had woken him up joined in and after James invited the odd boy in by way of asking his name, which was Peter, the four boys talked for hours. Each boy contributing as many stories and opinions as the others, covering a range of topics. Remus, who was quite observant, did notice a few odd glances sent from James to Sirius, who had turned to Remus and introduced himself after James asked for Peter's name. Remus recognized the Black name but being who he was couldn't form any prejudices against someone just because of their name. However, Remus could tell that there was something looming over James and Sirius but he just couldn't figure it out until James announced "Potters have always been in Gryffindor, there's no doubt I will be too." and Sirius pitifully replied "I wish I could say that." Remus quickly realized that Sirius assumed he would be sorted into Slytherin but wasn't happy about it. He understood and felt a bond with Sirius, he too had an unfortunate future that he had not control over. Wanting to take the attention off Sirius, Remus offered that he reckoned he'd be sorted into Ravenclaw. But he couldn't think of anything else to say, however he didn't need to because Peter easily took the heat off Sirius when he claimed he was lucky he even got a Hogwarts letter. From there three of the boys reentered their groove but Remus noticed James seemed to be somewhere else. Occasionally he laughed and added a little bit to the conversation but he wasn't really there. At a certain point he started coming back and before long the whole foursome was talking and laughing like old friends. When the train pulled into the station Remus, unsure of how to proceed, got up and left the compartment with Peter following behind. He realized James and Sirius stayed behind and Remus hoped that they were resolving whatever issues they had. With that hope Remus realized he actually like these boys, he had made friends. He hadn't even started classes yet and he had already done what he had ruled out he would do. He had promised himself that he would not get close to anyone. He decided that if _he_ could barely accept who he was how could anyone else and he knew he did not want to deal with the anguish of a person he trusted turning their back on him. But somehow he had become part of a group and he liked it. He didn't know what would happen if these boys found out about his "inconvenience" but for the moment he didn't care, he relished in the sense of belonging he had.

He privately rejoiced when Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor and as he walked up to the stool on which the Sorting Hat would be placed on his head he thought of how natural it had felt to be with those three boys. He wasn't thinking of where he would like to be sorted but when the hat called out "GRYFFINDOR" just seconds after it was placed on his head it felt right. He walked to the long table of cheering older students and sat next to Sirius who proudly patted him on the back. As the other two boys joined the table sitting next to Remus and Sirius, everything seemed surreal and for the night Remus was just a normal boy, embarking on the rest of his life.


End file.
